Test a REST API Using the Integrated API Console

WSO2 API Manager has an Integrated API Console, which allows you to visualize the API contract and interact with API's resources without being aware of the backend logic.

Follow the instructions below to use the API Console, which is available in the WSO2 API Manager Developer Portal, to test a REST API by invoking it:

Note

You can only try out HTTPS-based APIs via the API Console because the Developer Portal runs on HTTPS.

The examples here use the PizzaShack REST API, which was created in Create a REST API.

  1. Sign in to the WSO2 Developer Portal (https://<hostname>:9443/devportal) and click an API (e.g., PizzaShack).

  2. Subscribe to the API (e.g., PizzaShackAPI 1.0.0) using an application and an available throttling policy.

    Subscribe to an API

  3. Click Applications and then click on the application that you used to subscribe to the API. Click Production Keys and navigate to OAuth2 Tokens.

    Navigate to OAuth Tokens

  4. Scroll down and generate a production key

    Generate production keys

    Tip

    Production and Sandbox Tokens

    To generate keys for the Sandbox endpoint, go to the Sandbox Keys tab. For more information, see Maintaining Separate Production and Sandbox Gateways.

    Tip

    JWT tokens

    As the application is self-contained (JWT), copy the generated access token before proceeding to the next step.

  5. Click APIs, and click on the API that you need to invoke.

  6. Click Try Out in API Overview tab.

    API console test button

    The OpenAPI UI (API Console) to test the PizzaShack API appears.

  7. Enter the copied access token in the Authorization field.

    Copy Access Token

  8. Expand the GET method and click Try it out. Click Execute.

    API console execute

    Troubleshooting

    If you cannot invoke the API's HTTPS endpoint (this causes the SSLPeerUnverified exception), it could be because the security certificate issued by the server is not trusted by your browser. To resolve this issue, access the HTTPS endpoint directly from your browser and accept the security certificate.

    If WSO2 API Manager has a certificate signed by a Certificate Authority (CA), the HTTPS endpoints should work out-of-the-box.

Note the successful response for the API invocation.

API response

You have now successfully invoked an API using the Open API Console

Note

When using the Swagger UI's tryout feature to send large payloads, there's a risk that the interface may hang or not function properly. This is because the Swagger client isn't designed as a production-ready tool for handling substantial requests. For testing large payloads, it's advisable to use alternatives like Curl, or other custom clients. The Swagger tryout is intended mainly for simple testing workloads.

Get a test key to invoke an API

When you want to test out the process of invoking an API resource, you can easily get a test key from the API console rather than going back to the Applications page and generating a key. Click Try Out to navigate to the API Console, click on the GET TEST KEY button to generate a test key.

Get test key

Tip

TEST KEY will be generated with default scopes attached to the API. If you need to generate a token with specific scopes, go to the application view and generate a token.

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